


Starlight and all things beautiful

by generalllymild



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Death, Human!Harry, Kinda, M/M, also this is song inspired yay, angel!Harry, lake spirit!louis, listen it's a mess, lots of confusing things try to keep up ha, mermaid!louis, minor liam/zayn - Freeform, myth!louis, mythical AU, they're all myths, they're also kinda guardiand angels at one point, where's niall?? no one knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 09:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3322592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/generalllymild/pseuds/generalllymild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The trick is not to go in too deep. Let the sea touch your legs, but don't let them swallow you whole. The trick is not to let yourself drown. When you can't find the sand under your toes, you forget how to breath, how to fly. The trick is not to let yourself be found at the bottom. And this was the thing Harry forgot."</p>
<p>or, they are all myths and nothing is real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starlight and all things beautiful

The trick is not to go in too deep. Let the sea touch your legs, but don't let them swallow you whole. The trick is not to let yourself drown. When you can't find the sand under your toes, you forget how to breath, how to fly. The trick is not to let yourself be found at the bottom. And this was the thing Harry forgot.

Louis has been alone in the cove of the eastern side of the Lake for so long, that he has troubles remembering even his own name. Luckily, apparently mythical creatures don’t age. Or die. Immortality is pretty cool, Louis thinks. His sparkling green tail is just as pretty as it was on the day one. He has enough pet fish to fill a whole bathtub. His life is awesome, really. He just wishes he wasn’t the only one down here.  
Harry has a bit of an insomnia. Which, doesn’t mind him as much as it probably should, with early mornings and all. But Harry likes nighttime, when he’s the only one awake. He likes the cool breeze of air on his skin, messing up his curls even more. Harry likes the little lake not far from his flat, hidden behind trees. Yeah, Harry quite likes his insomnia.  
*****  
Harry couldn’t breathe for a long time before he drowned. He lost his breath the moment he saw Louis, actually first just brown shaggy hair full of seaweed and a couple of flowers. From that moment, he knew. Now, we could say this was like every other wesaweachotherandfellinlove kinda thing, but. Louis isn’t real. He isn’t a human. Iguess we could say now, that no matter of that fact, they overstepped all the barriers. But that isn’t so true either. You see, Harry couldn’t breathe.  
Getting closer, Harry saw blue sparkly eyes and last but not least; the tail. At this point he clearly knew what Louis was, had to be. When he noticed the creature’s mouth parting in shock and blueblueeyes widening, he knew it was going to disappear. Harry of course couldn’t allow this new thing in his lake get away quite so soon. Because, among other things Harry was, lyrics, knockknock jokes, whatnot, he also liked pretty things. And as things were, Louis was pretty and exciting. Good for him. But if it wasn’t for this, maybe Harry would’ve watched his step a bit more. Just that bit more. Whispering “i won’t hurt you, beautiful, i promise, just don’t go, please” he slowly got his shoes off and walked into the freezing water. Harry knew, as his legs turned numb, that he shouldn’t. Shouldn’t isn’t the same as couldn’t. And with hope in his mind and the reality forgotten, he steps forward.  
*****  
Louis knew he should gogogo, what are you waiting for, your death? but he was alone, so alone. And the boy was pretty, wild curls and long limbs. It couldn’t hurt to stay for just a little while more, maybe he could coax this visiter deepdeeper into the water, deep enough so he wouldn’t be just a visitor anymore. Getting excited, he noticed water getting higher, just a little.  
Louis almost wanted to laugh, now you have less space to walk, Curly. The perks of being the spirit of the lake. Maybe this was his chance of finally getting company, his chance of a happy ending. He slipped into the water, waiting. I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.  
*****  
Kneedeep into the water, Harry sees a flash of already familiar green just a few arms away. “hey, you, c’mere, where are you?” Harry tries to see under the water, walking deeper, waisthigh now.  
It takes great selfcontrol from Louis not to pull from the tattooed ankles of the boy. Just a little more, c’mon.Couple steps later, Louis is tired of waiting. He wants to talk, now. He wants to get to know to what’s soon his. He can’t wait anymore. Sprinting towards the boy’s legs, he sees the curly one tense. Don’t worry, Curly. It’s just me, you’ll be okay.Harry feels tiny hands curl round his ankles.  
Only then, minutes after being pulled even deeper, under the blue freezing water, does Harry truly lose the oxygen from his lungs. Only then does he realize how blind he was. He blindly trusted this creature, without second guessing anything, just because the sea child was beautiful, magical. And here he is, next to the boy, where he wanted to be, with not enough air, choking. Even the creature starts to look scared, alarmed, when Harry didn’t continue breathing like he thought he would.  
*****  
“Curly? Please, don’t. Don’t leave me.” It’s been hours, days, years, Louis doesn’t know. Louis can’t right breathe, not when his boy never learned to. Not when he is alone, again. Not when he had killed ahuman. Young, beautiful, human. No, Louis can’t right breathe. He doesn’t know if he even could, not anymore.  
“I’m so sorry, Curly.” Flowers, Louis’ flowers, surrounded the boy’s body. His hair flowed with the sea’s flow. The rays of sunlight lit sparkles on his skin. Louis wishes he could see his eyes light up too, one last time. Laying down next to the body, he waited for the stars, because they reminded him of green eyes. Waited for his boy, made of starlight and all things beautiful, to wake up. Maybe the boy with curls and eyes as green as his tail could live in the stars. Maybe he would smile down at him from there. Maybe the boy was always made to fly.  
*****  
Spitting salty water from his lungs, Harry tried to open his eyes. Everything was bright, too bright. Squinting, Harry tried to balance this strange world from its spinning. Ups and downs melting into one, he had to close his eyes, afraid to pass out. Before the blackness creeped up on him, he remembered. Louis.  
******  
“Hi, newie. Gonna sleep for many years more?” A voice woke Harry up. Wait, wha “Years? I’ve been here for years?!”Laughing, the speaker, brown haired guy, around his age, early twenties, shaked his head, amused. Harry didn’t quite understand what was so funny about this. As much as he knows, he drowned. “I’m Liam. Welcome to the Clouds.”  
“Liam. Who’s Louis?” Liam frowned for a second, before it turned into a knowing smile, you could almost see the light bulb appear above his head. “Oh. Got your human’s name already, then, newie?” Even more confused, Harry corrected Liam. “It’s not newie, it’s Harry. And would you now just plea” Suddenly he was right there, clear as ever, in Harry’s head. The creature, who...new imagines forming, he saw his creature drag him into his death. But, it couldn’t, he wouldn’t. Would he? “Charming lad, your Louis. Not exactly human either, is he?” Liam didn’t sound so smiley anymore. “It’s just, usually our human’s aren’t the ones who killed us.” Liam didn’t sound so sure anymore, thought he knew how this went. Like his Zayn, his human, although he looked like a greek god. That’s another story though, for another day. When you are a guarding angel, you see all kind of stuff. Seas, skies, ground; mortals and immortals. Stories, yeah, those Liam had many, too many.  
*****  
Liam showed Harry his room for the night. On the walls of the hallways, there were monitors showing people and other creatures, places that looked like London, or New York. Harry catches a sight of someone who looks scarily like him. And the other person could be Louis, if. If he didn’t look so human.And that could be Liam, laughing with a black haired boy. “Liam, what is this? Who are they?”  
Liam smiled, looking at the imagines fondly. “They’re us. In every universe, if things would be different. But they they aren’t real. Don’t worry about it.” With a final look on the pictures of the people on the walls, living their life in different settings, like a dream, they moved on.  
*****  
As the night fell on them, Harry wasn’t the only one who found it hard to sleep. Look down a couple thousand miles, you’ll find one Louis, terrified. He had lost his boy, once again. This time he couldn’t even find his body.  
“Curly?” Louis’ voice had gone hoarse from shouting, he was so tired. But no, he couldn’t sleep, last time he had just briefly closed his eyes and look at him now. He had losthis Curly. Twice. Now he didn’t have even the boy’s body, comfort gone. Louis hoped his boy had found his way to the stars, where he belonged.  
Sleep creeped up on him eventually. In his dreams, he saw his boy. He was shouting at him, angry lines on his forehead. “Louis, you aren’t even trying! You should try that sometime, so I wouldn’t be the only one doing something here. Now, I’m going to leave you and you won’t call me back, you won’t even try, ‘cause apparently that’s all you do. I’m so tired of you, Louis. You really thought you were so special. Ican’t live like this.” Then he’s crying, curling into a ball and Louis can’t move. He can’t talk, can’t comfort. Can’t ask, what did i do, although somehow, he knows. He can’t tell him, I’m sorry i’m so sorry you have to understand i didn’t mean to hurt you i miss you please. Louis wakes up, searching a body next to him, finding nothing. In the end, he doesn’t remember which tears are from his dream, which from when he woke up. He just knows he fucked up, for good. “Deceptively real until the tricked victim reaches out to touch and finds empty air.”  
*****  
“Go on, Harry. Go get your boy.” Liam gently pushed Harry forward towards the edge of the soft cloud they were currently standing on. Didn’t sound very safe, but then again, they were already dead. Kind of. They just were lucky enough to be given a second opportunity, in the form of wings and a mission: save a couple lifes. You’re a guarding angel, do your job. Simple. Taking a deep breathe, Harry spreaded his wings and jumped. For Louis.  
*****  
“Louis.” A breath of relief, he was here. He had found him. Louis seemed to be asleep, curled into himself, surrounded by seaweed. Doubting, Harry touched the water. He wasn’t ready, he couldn’t. He couldn’t drown again. But he had to be brave, for this. For Louis.  
“Curly?” Mumbling in his sleep, Louis reached out. When he found warm skin, his brain freezed for a moment. This was new, hallucinationing. Louis smiled. He liked this dream already. “Curly, i’m sorry, you know i didn’t mean to do it, right? You have to understand, please. I missed you, Curly. Why did you come back?” Harry just took Louis’ hand more tightly into his. Louis’ mumbling wasn’t easily heard, if you didn’t listen closely. Harry did. “It’s okay, Louis. It’s okay.” He couldn’t right breathe, but this time it wasn’t because of his need of air. No, it was because his chest felt too tight, his heart too big. Louis. I missed you too.  
*****  
Liam watched as Harry curled around Louis. Shaking his head, smiling sadly, Harry, didn’t you know, you can’t be underwater with wings. It doesn’t work like that. Only when you’re not real.  
Slightly left, a new imagine appeared on the wall. Another dream, another story. Sometimes Liam wished he could live in a dream too. The thing about these dreams are that, with enough time, things seem to lose their magic, they start to fade. They lose their colors. People within the dream get farer away from each other and start to become less real everyday. But it’s awesome, perfect even, in the first days. People deserve that. Liam just couldn’t. Couldn’t lie like that to himself, lie to everyone in his dreams. So he thought it would be better if the people entering their dreams wouldn’t know. It’d be better like that. They’re gone anyway, there’s no life in the real world for them anymore. But in dreams, they can have another chance, and another and another. Almost like immortality, except, no memories of last dreams. Life after life, story after story.  
*****  
Now, the lake hidden behind the trees is just that. A lake, with no spirits. Louis lives in a another universe, but he’s never alone anymore. Louis was never real, he was a myth. Now Harry is like him, a myth. Never lived, made of starlight and fairy dust. All things beautiful.

But in your dreams, whatever they be, dream a little dream of me.  
*****  
"There's a whole 'nother conversation going on In a parallel universe.  
Where nothing breaks and nothing hurts. There's a waltz playin' frozen in time  
Blades of grass on tiny bare feet  
I look at you and you're lookin' at me."(P!nk, 'Beam me up’

)

**Author's Note:**

> if you're still here, congratulations! it was a mess, i know, but i did warn you! 
> 
> (my tumblr is icelarrie.tumblr.com)


End file.
